A moment ago, I had the thought to hide the frivolous purchase of yet more ‘props’ I made before my man got home. It isn’t that I didn’t want him to know that I was spending money, I just don’t want to see the eye roll when he realizes there are two more plates to be meticulously piled into the cabinet. The second the thought passed through my head, I realized how ridiculous it was, however, I notice that a lot of my clients are on strict budgets managed by their significant others. I am not talking deadbeats who are gambling money away on magical variant covers that will someday be worth millions (they wont) while their bills are barely being paid and their children can’t afford new school clothes. I am talking about full grown well established people who’s bills are taken care of, families are well prepared for and significant others earn an income themselves. Some clients will often go as far as to spread out the payment types so that the other half doesn’t catch on. Once again, I sell comic books. Superman, Iron Man, entertainment that averages about $2.99 a pop. So if you by 5 or 6 you are spending under $20 a week on entertainment. That seems like a rather good value to me. I know what one night a bar costs me, a single manicure, or that new lady piece I was eyeing up at the money sink that is Victoria Secret. And here I have customers who have to sneak about spending $20 a week on comics?
Handsome and I have a great relationship when it comes to money. The bills are paid, the food is on the table and with whatever is left some goes into savings and the other we don’t ask each other about. If he wants new tires for the motorcycle, then poof, there are new tires. If I want yet another plate because I didn’t have one in orange yet, then there’s another plate. Now, if I was buying new plates every day and food was not being put on the table, I can see this being a problem, but I can’t imagine having to justify myself to him or me ever questioning what he spends on our occasional non-necessary. I understand that children put a whole new spin on the money situation, but I think the same rules should apply. I can’t remember a time when any one ever though to question my father on what he spent on his newest piece of fishing equipment. And why should they?
Biscuits with Creamy Gravy & Venison Sausage
From Food Network Magazine October 2011
Ingredients
- 8 Black Pepper Buttermilk Biscuits
- 8 Sausage Patties
- Cream Gravy
- Chopped fresh parsley leaves, for garnish
- Scrambled eggs, for serving
Preparation:
Slice each biscuit in half and put a sausage patty on the bottom half of each. Top with cream gravy and parsley. Serve 2 biscuits per person with eggs on the side.
Sausage Patties
Ingredients:
- 1 pound ground venison sausage (make sure your butcher has added pork fat or take this time to add some yourself)
- 2 cloves garlic, smashed and chopped into a paste
- 1 teaspoon onion powder
- 2 tablespoons finely chopped fresh sage
- 1 tablespoon finely chopped fresh thyme
- 2 tablespoons canola oil
- Kosher salt and freshly ground pepper
Preparation:
Combine the pork, garlic, onion powder, sage, thyme and oil in a large bowl and season with salt and pepper. Cover and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes and up to 8 hours to allow the flavors to meld.
Form the mixture into 8 patties, each 1/2 inch thick. Heat a nonstick pan over medium-high heat. Cook the patties until golden brown and just cooked through, about 5 minutes per side.
**I wanted some serious sausage and gravy, so I opted to brown and crumble my sausage instead of making little patties. I mixed it in with the creamy gravy before ladling it over the biscuits.
Cream Gravy
Ingredients:
- 2 cups whole milk
- 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
- 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
- Kosher salt and freshly ground pepper
- Put the milk in a small saucepan and bring to a simmer over medium heat.
Preparation:
Melt the butter in a small saucepan over medium heat. Whisk in the flour and cook for 1 minute without browning. Slowly whisk in the warm milk. Raise the heat to high and continue whisking until the sauce begins to thicken and the raw taste of the flour has been cooked out, about 5 minutes. Season with 1 teaspoon salt and 1/4 teaspoon pepper. Serve warm.
Black Pepper Buttermilk Biscuits
Ingredients:
- 4 cups all-purpose flour, plus more for shaping
- 1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon fine salt
- 12 tablespoons (1 1/2 sticks) cold unsalted butter, cut into small pieces, plus 4 tablespoons ( 1/2 stick), melted
- 1 1/2 cups buttermilk, chilled
- 1/2 cup heavy cream
- Freshly ground pepper
Preparation:
Preheat the oven to 450 degrees F. Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper.
Combine the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt in a large bowl. Cut in the cold butter using your fingers or a pastry cutter until the mixture resembles coarse meal. Add the buttermilk and mix gently until the mixture just begins to come together.
Scrape the dough onto a lightly floured counter. Pat into a 10-by-12-inch rectangle, about 3/4 inch thick. Use a 2-inch round cutter to cut out biscuits. Press together the scraps and repeat.
Place the biscuits 2 inches apart on the baking sheet; brush the tops with the cream and sprinkle with pepper (use 2 teaspoons total). Bake until light golden brown, 12 to 15 minutes. Brush the biscuits with the melted butter and transfer them to a wire rack to cool at least slightly.
Belinda @zomppa says
What a breakfast!! I hear you…unfortunately, money is one of the leading causes of rift in relationships so having an established agreement is important!
Kiri W. says
Haha, this is such an American meal – I didn’t grow up on it and I can’t quite make myself love it. My wife would be in love, though.
Rachel @ Baked by Rachel says
New props and toys are important, as long as they don’t break the bank 🙂 I feel like I’m the only one on the planet without a cute egg prop though!
amanda @ fake ginger says
Biscuits and gravy is my favorite breakfast ever! I wanna make the black pepper biscuits for egg sandwiches too!
I “hide” purchases from my husband. He doesn’t care, I just get embarrassed (wrong word maybe?) when I’ve bought yet another coral tank or sparkly nailpolish. Luckily my purchases usually fit in my purse so it’s not hard to hide. 😛 He’s forever telling me to go out and spend money on myself so I don’t know why I feel like I have to hide them.
Jennie @themessybakerblog says
Kita, this looks super delish. My husband would flip if I made him this. He loves anything slathered with gravy. Oh, I just purchased like $56 worth of props yesterday. Gotta love Anthropologie.
Anita at Hungry Couple says
Even without the sausage, biscuits and gravy are one of my all-time comfort foods! As for money, if both partners in the relationship are working, the Mr. and I favor a yours/mine/ours relationship. Each contributes an agreed upon amount to a joint account (for rent/mortgage, food, utilities, transportation, other household expenses)and the rest that they earn is theirs to do with as they please without having to hide it or explain it. That puts an end to arguments about money.
Erin says
That’s such a good point. The problem I am in right now is that I owe my dad $3000 for a new transmission I got on my car a year ago because as a graduate student I don’t have more than $300 a month outside of rent, bills, gas and groceries. It’s been so hard trying to pay him back, and he makes no indication of being in a hurry for me to do so, but whenever I buy anything that I don’t really really need, I feel bad. Half the time I return it even though he lives 6 hours away and could never know haha.
Renee @ Tortillas and Honey says
This is absolutely delightful…. biscuits with sausage and gravy is one of my favorite dishes! I like to also slap in a fried egg inside it too for more oozy goodness. 🙂
Soni says
Hi Kita,
First time here and I absolutely love your pics and your site!You’re right, when it comes to money there should be an understanding between the partners to keep the peace!
I love your patties and would love to try it with chicken or pork sausage and the biscuits look wonderful too.Perfect American meal 🙂
Erin @ Dinners, Dishes, and Desserts says
I have to laugh at this post! I hide stuff from my hubby all the time 🙂 Mainly because I know he will give the eye roll, and I will be embarrassed about it! Money would be the only thing that we ever argue about so sometimes I just hide it, so we just don’t have to talk about it. He always knows though, so it is just stupid!
[email protected] says
I must admit, I hide my blog prop buys from the hubby…only because he hates that I have a stock pile of dishes and napkins that are only used for pictures. Never eaten off of. I’m really thinking I need to move next door so that I can come over for breakfast.
Lori says
Wow! Great looking brekkie (or dinner!) My sister and I joke that if you buy some new clothing, put it in your closet fo 2 weeks, when Hubby asks “is that new?” you can say “no, I just grabbed this from the closet!”
Stephanie says
My husband’s only entertainment purchases are spent on his weekly trip to the comic shop. Bless his heart. He doesn’t like to spend money. I, on the other hand, need to learn from him, lol! I don’t have to sneak things, but if I buy something and then complain about money later, he gives me a bad look, haha!
P.S. I’m coming for breakfast tomorrow!
nicole @ I am a Honey Bee says
I don’t sneak things. He get the eye roll whenever a new package of scrapbooking supplies arrive.